Protect Your Family From the Top 10 Household Toxins

You may think you're doing an excellent job of protecting your family from toxins in your home, but there's always more you could do. USA Today lists the top 10 dangerous chemicals found in houses, and how to limit your exposure to them. A few of the chief offenders:

1. BPAs. You've probably heard of these plastics - they've been in the news a lot lately, because there's a fight to ban them from all childrens' products. They can cause reproductive abnormalities. BPA, also known as bisphenol-A, may be in plastic baby bottles and sippy cups; canned food and cans of liquid baby formula are often lined with the plastic, and it even shows up in thermal receipt paper. Eliminate it from your house by choosing only baby bottles that bill themselves as BPA-free. Choose powdered baby formula instead of the liquid variety. Try to limit your consumption of canned food.

2. Arsenic. This is a wood preservative that can be present in older fences and decks. If it's financially feasible for you, have your fencing and deck redone with arsenic-free wood. If not, leave your shoes outside when you come in from the back or front yard, so you don't track the chemicals into your house. This is also a good rule to follow when coming in from the playground, because some public children's play areas also use arsenic-treated wood.

3. Cadmium. This chemical can cause cancer, kidney damage and bone damage. It's sometimes found in cheap children's products: recently, Wal-Mart recalled a line of Miley Cyrus charm jewelry because the pieces contained cadmium, and McDonalds recalled Shrek drinking glasses whose paint was found to have cadmium in it. To limit your family's exposeure to cadmium, avoid buying cheap children's jewelry, in particular.

Read the rest of the USA Today article to learn about more common household toxins and ways to protect your family from them.